Mercury Conflict
by Ruby-Onike
Summary: This is about the Mercury Lighthouse part. Contains Alex X Mia though very little after chapter 1 and a lot of weird jokes...
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry this is so short, but it's my first fanfic. It's Imilshipping, so I'm sorry if you don't like that! I hope you enjoy and reviews are loved! ^^**

* * *

"You'll feel better soon."

Mia cast Ply on the old man lying on the bed in front of her, hoping that her powers were enough this time too. She was a Mercury adept, part of the Mercury Clan, but her powers were weak. Her town, Imil, had been hit with an epidemic, so her powers were in constant use lately. It seemed like she was the only person who could help the villagers, but even she was too late sometimes and people she knew passed away. It was tiring and painful to be in Imil lately.

_If only Alex were here, he could help me_, she thought subconsciously as the little fairy figure fluttered over the old man, spreading bright sparks to heal him. Nobody, except Alex and her, could see the magic that they could wield.

It was like they were special, it was the thing that linked the two when they were children, happy and carefree.

"How do you feel now?" she asked, smiling gently, as the old man coughed a little more.

He looked surprised as he answered," Much better." He sat up and Mia shook her head and told him to sit back down and not to push himself. Her magic was too weak to fully heal it, but it could heal most of it to the extent that the people could recover by themselves soon.

Yes, she knew that her powers could be stronger, but she used to not need to be strong. Alex had done that for her.

The old woman next to her thanked her, smiling a wrinkled smile. Then, she coughed. Mia's eyes widened as she turned to the woman.

_She must've caught the sickness too_, she reasoned, _but she looks okay compared to her husband, she should just rest._ Mia told her so and made her way to the entrance when she saw a group of travelers standing there. They looked tired and cold as they stood before her, extremely out of place.

They were all boys and gave her a weird, but not uncomfortable, feeling. It was a strangely familiar feeling though. One had reddish brown hair that stood almost straight up and amber eyes. He was the largest of them all. He wore clothes that were not suited for the cold weather in Imil. The boy on the right had bright yellow hair with deep violet eyes and was the shortest, though the way he stared at her showed that he didn't care much for his height. He also was shivering a little even in the warmth of the house.

The boy in the middle caught her attention as well. He stood a bit in front of the others and wore a tunic. He had sandy yellow hair and a sword strapped on his back with a red scabbard. He seemed like the leader of the group from the way he stood and the way the others bunched close behind him.

"Who are you?" Mia asked them, raising an eyebrow and brushing aside a strand of blue hair that had gotten in her sight," Can I help you?" It was rare for people to journey all the way North up here. Were they after something?

Suddenly, a purple light flashed. She jumped and ran to the window, knowing that it could mean only one thing. Someone had opened the door to the lighthouse. She stared anxiously at the window, but she could see nothing, except the dim shape of the Mercury Lighthouse. It was much too far away to properly see any people who had gone in.

She and Alex had guarded it before, but she couldn't do it so well now. With the villagers falling ill so often and her weak Mercury Psynergy, she didn't do such a great job of guarding it like she was supposed to. She just assumed that nobody would try to light it since only Mercury adepts could open the entrance with Ply. Who could be opening it?

"Was that the lighthouse?" she whispered to herself and realized that it could only be Alex who had opened it. _Alex? You're back? Then, why are you doing this? Didn't you promise to protect it, like me?_

She froze for a minute before thinking, _why did you leave?_

"Alex," she whispered, her heart thudding in her chest. She knew that she had to go stop him because it was her responsibility, even though he could easily defeat her in combat. She ran past the group of travelers, out of Imil, and to Alex and the lighthouse.

Now, she had to defeat Alex, the person she had grown up with, the person who been with her almost everyday until the day he had left, and her first and only love.


	2. Chapter 2: It stops being serious

**I do not own Golden Sun, but I love the game a lot! I hope you enjoy this and please forgive me for torturing their personalities. Isaac became a sarcastic person, Ivan a violent one, and Garet became a bit more of an idiot.  
**

* * *

Isaac watched the girl rush past them as he backed away. He looked at her for a while, but she disappeared out of sight soon.

"Let's follow her!" Garet exclaimed, grinning carelessly.

"Shut up, Garet! Of course we're going to chase after her! She's headed to the Mercury Lighthouse! You idiot!" Ivan growled, jumping to hit Garet on the back of his head.

Isaac smiled at the two who were now shouting at each other. They always amused him when they fought with each other. He leaned against the wall of the house and watched their antics.

"I'm not an idiot!" Garet whined, pushing Ivan away as softly as he could.

"Yes, you're an idiot! Remember that last monster fight? Obviously you should use your Mars Psynergy to fight, but no, you insist on using brute strength! I almost got killed, you idiot!" Ivan shot back, biting Garet's outstretched hand.

"You guys are very mature," Isaac commented, grinning a sarcastic smile," It's very important to our quest that you keep wasting time like this."

Garet nodded, shaking Ivan off his hand. Ivan scowled, staring at the door. Isaac smirked, pushing himself off the wall and walked outside, into the bitter cold yet again. He gritted his teeth and tried to not shiver too much. Garet and Ivan trailed behind him. Garet was always willing to follow him, like some sort of dog. Ivan followed him grudgingly when he was angry, but he didn't fight over the leader position.

_Am I a good leader_, Isaac asked himself as he trudged to the Mercury lighthouse. He shrugged to nobody in particular as a strong wind whipped his scarf around.

_I led us inside Sol Sanctum and succeeded. Does that count as good leadership? Although I did get Kraden and Jenna kidnapped and led those two jerks to the Elemental Stars. Still, I got passed the traps that those two couldn't. I'm awesome._

Isaac chuckled and Garet and Ivan's heads snapped up to look at him in surprise. It was rare for Isaac to laugh in such a serious moment.

"Isaac, you okay?" Garet asked, concerned.

Isaac glanced back at them," Yeah, of course I'm okay, just really cold."

"Idiot," Ivan muttered under his breath.

"What'd you call me?" Garet yelled, angry at the frequent insult.

"He called you smart," Isaac called back to them," No, duh, he called you an idiot!"

"Well, if I'm an idiot, then you're a, um, shortie!" Garet shouted at Ivan.

Oh no, the forbidden word. Ivan's eyebrows were drawn down into a V shape. He bared his teeth and clenched his fists, seething with a rage so great that if it had a tangible form, it would take over the world with pure anger.

"Plasma!" he shouted, raising a hand to call his Jupiter element. Garet's mouth was open in disbelief. Isaac sighed in exasperation and turned to face them, frowning. The purple thunderbolt shot down from the sky and Garet ran from the spot he was standing. Moments later, the ground near there was singed black and Garet was stunned from shock.

"What was that for?" Garet asked incredulously.

"You called me a shortie and I don't appreciate that," Ivan sniffed, smiling triumphantly.

"Oh, like you're so tall," Isaac scoffed," You just wasted more time. Do you guys really want Saturos and Menardi to get to the top of Mercury Lighthouse and light it first?"

Ivan scowled yet again, crossing his arms stubbornly. Garet and him walked over to Isaac again and they continued to the lighthouse. They were almost there.

There was one good thing about that demonstration of Psynergy, no monsters tried to attack them for the rest of the way, scared that Ivan would fry them with Plasma.

"Ah, we're here! We got here quickly, didn't we? Good thing there were no distractions, like having another fight and using Psynergy on one another," Isaac smiled at Ivan widely.

Ivan bared his teeth, pushing back his blonde hair from his eyes," Hey, isn't that the girl from that house? The Mercury adept?" He pointed to Mia who was panicking in front of a statue that seemed to be blocking the door to the inside of the Mercury lighthouse.

They walked over to her and stood behind her, listening to her anxious words.

"Oh no, the statue's blocking the door and I can't reach the statue from here. I can't jump across like I used to because the statue's blocking the ground! I'm so useless, useless, useless!" Mia sighed.

"Can we help?" Isaac asked, smiling as kindly as he could. It was obvious that this girl needed help.

"Oh, that statue's blocking the door and I really need to go inside!" Mia cried out.

Isaac glanced at the statue. _Only that? Moving that will be so easy compared to the things we've faced before!_ He walked up to the gap and used Move to push the statue to its left.

"No fair, Isaac always gets to show off in front of girls!" Garet whined.

"You'll get your turn, once you become attractive," Ivan snickered.

Mia didn't seem to hear them as she watched the statue move, being pushed by a giant hand. "You are an adept?" she asked him.

"No, duh," Isaac scoffed, wiping sweat off his brow with a gloved hand. He backed away as Mia shrugged and walked towards him. She jumped over the gap with ease and to the door.

Isaac gestured to Garet and Ivan to go over to him and watch. Mia used Ply on the doorway and the little fairy they had seen in that house appeared again and flew over the closed doorway, sprinkling its bright magic. The barrier faded away and Mia went inside.

"Come on, let's go!" Isaac urged, jumping over the gap. Garet and Ivan did the same and they disappeared into Mercury lighthouse.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello there again! This is the third chapter and yeah...don't ask about Garet and his embarrassing moments...**

* * *

Mia ran through the hall of Mercury Lighthouse and bumped into a giant Lizard Man. She fell back and it didn't do anything, except stand there. She looked at it a bit more.

It wasn't doing anything.

_Maybe it's a giant statue or something_, she thought, standing up and walking around it.

The Lizard Man shifted quickly and blocked her way. No matter which way she went, it kept blocking her!

She stopped to catch her breath after running around a lot and heard laughs from behind her. She turned and saw the boys who had helped her before.

"Garet, I dare you to try to go around the Lizard Man," the short one pointed at Mia and the monster.

"No, do it yourself! I'm not a fast runner," the one named Garet protested.

"Yes, let's outrun it instead of just getting rid of it," the boy who had helped her before replied blandly.

"Oh! I didn't think of that! You're so smart, Isaac!" Garet exclaimed.

"Yeah, and you're smart too," Isaac walked forward a bit, turned, and gestures for the other two to follow him.

Mia stared at them in surprise. Were they going to help her yet again?

"Are you going to help me?" she asked.

Isaac jumped and looked at her as if she had just appeared.

"No, we're NOT going to help you, we're only doing this for fun," he said without emotion.

Mia raised her eyebrows. Was he being sarcastic or did he really mean it? She could only watch as they used their own Psynergy against the Lizard Man and made short work of it. _Amazing_, she thought to herself, _should I ask them to help me make my way through this lighthouse? There are other monsters like this one._ She shook her head. This was her duty and she had to do this herself.

"Finally, Garet, you used your Psynergy! Did you finally get smarter or were you showing off for the girl?" the violet-eyed boy sneered at Garet.

Garet pouted, crossing his arms," Do you doubt my skill, Ivan?"

"I doubt more than that!" Ivan grinned, smacking Garet on his back. Garet jumped, wincing.

"Thank you all. Now I have to get going," Mia bowed and rushed off into the next room.

"Oh sure, just thank us and run away. Hey, how about joining us! We need your Psynergy to go to the top of Mercury Lighthouse!" Isaac called after her.

In the next room, Mia stared at the statue holding a pulsating red jewel near its heart. She ran to the next room and into one filled with water and stepping stones. She jumped onto the stone in front of her, remembering how she and Alex used to play here until they had to go back. She jumped onto a platform and went up its stairs.

As she made her way to the middle of the room, she saw another statue, blocking the ground next to a gap. In frustration, she slammed her palm into the wall, flinching at the pain.

Now, she needed those travelers to help her again. She hated getting help from them since she felt so helpless.

"Psynergy Man to the rescue!" Garet screamed, charging in. Mia tried not to laugh when he said that. He blushed a deep red color and used Move on the statue to pull it into the gap.

"Psynergy Man?" Mia asked.

"We dared him to say that," Ivan appeared from the doorway, laughing.

"No, not we, you. There _is_ a difference," Isaac said, walking in after him. Garet blushed even more as he stood next to the statue-filled gap.

Mia giggled," You all keep saving me, thank you very much! I'll help you with anything you want."

"Kiss me!" Garet exclaimed, smiling.

"Kill him," Ivan pointed at Garet with his thumb.

Isaac sighed," I'd ask you to join our happy little group and help us with your Psynergy, but apparently, my followers want you to do other more important things."

Mia grinned," Okay, I'll join, if it's my choice." She glanced at Garet in disgust, wondering if he had been serious. Isaac nodded, smiling a little.

"From now on, you are my slave, any objections?" Isaac asked.

"R-really?" Mia questioned, wondering what kind of people she was now traveling with were.

"Yes, I was serious," Isaac muttered sarcastically. Mia tried to smile in spite of her anxiety, fear, and freaked out feelings.

_See what you've put me into, Alex?_ She sighed, walking to the statue and jumping over it. Everyone else jumped after her.

"What are you here for?" she asked Isaac as they walked through the hallways.

"I need to stop those jerks from lighting all of the lighthouses because apparently, it was my fault that they got the Elemental Stars...though I'm not saying that it wasn't my fault," Isaac replied, frowning.

"It was my fault too!" Garet whined," Why didn't you include me in the story?"

"You don't count, all you did was follow me around," Isaac shrugged.

"No! I did some stuff by myself too! I wanted to break into Sol Sanctum and see what's inside!" Garet protested.

"Yeah, keep believing that," Isaac sighed as they emerged into a room with three waterfalls and another door besides the one they were near now. Garet pouted, giving up.

The next room was full with pipes spouting water and incomplete pipes, with their parts somewhere near them.

"I predict that after this room, we will get soaked," Ivan growled, pushing a nearby pipe into its place. Another opening started spouting water.

Mia stared at everything. It was a mess here and water was everywhere. She lifted her boots and marveled at the wet floor.

"Yes, none of us have seen water before," Isaac yawned, moving casually into a water jet and got pushed out into an area with some stairs. By then, his trousers and shirt had gotten wet, but only partially.

"Ugh, I hope we don't get hypothermia," Ivan complained as he followed suit.

"I don't like...water," Garet muttered, running in the direction the water jet was pushing him. They all stared at Mia to do the same. She smiled timidly and went into the water.

It was a weird feeling to get pushed like that. She intended to do it gracefully, but she fell when the jet caught her and landed by their feet. She got up quickly, staring down at her wet dress in disgust.

Isaac stared at her for a moment and commented," It'll dry." Mia nodded, blushing.

"Okay, let's go!" she yelled, tired of them looking at her so closely. Ivan shook his arms every so often as if trying to get the uncomfortable feeling of wet clothes off.

"There'll be more like those," Isaac waved vaguely at the jets," Please try not to fall again."

Mia felt like he was making fun of her. She gritted her teeth and realized that they should hurry up and catch up to Alex.

"Alex," she whispered, frowning.

"Alex, you mean that guy with blue hair who looks like a girl?" Garet asked.

"He does not look like a girl!" Mia snapped.

"No, he looks like a manly man, just like Saturos or Garet, with his long blue hair and petite figure," Isaac murmured, running down some stairs and coming out behind a pipe. He ran down and was pushed south by a jet. He shook off some water and continued traversing his way around the room. Nobody followed him and they waited for him to appear again.

Suddenly, the pipe that Ivan had pushed into place was shoved back out. The water from the pipes stopped flowing and Isaac stepped back out, soaked and shivering.

"Isaac! You did it!" Garet exclaimed.

"No, duh, why do you think the water jets are gone. Come on, let's continue, I saw a treasure chest somewhere near," Isaac urged, still freezing.

Mia undid her cape and placed it around Isaac. She blushed when she did it and didn't say any more.

Isaac didn't seem to notice what she had done, but she saw him smile for a second.

_Alex, what are you planning? Do you know what I'm doing now?_ Mia felt worried, wondering if Alex was like she had remembered.

There was a noise and Mia looked up from walking to see that they had opened the chest and found something nice. She smiled. _Will I get stronger if I stay with them?_

"What's this?" Garet asked, grabbing the star-shaped object they had found.

"Idiot, it's a Psynergy Crystal! Haven't you seen one before?" Ivan demanded.

"No, where did you see one?" Garet raised an eyebrow, not hearing the idiot part.

"Master Hammet once showed me one that he had gotten from trading! You can use it to recover Psynergy when you're low on it," Ivan grinned, snitching the Crystal from Garet," I accidentally used the one he had gotten. Boy, he got angry at me that day!"

"Aw, Ivan, do you miss him?" Garet teased, grinning.

"No, but I guess that I should go rescue him at some point," Ivan shrugged," After all, he has taken care of me for a long time." He fingered the crystal for a while before stuffing it into his pack. "We'll need that," he murmured.

"No, duh," Isaac muttered, leading the way to the exit of the room. In the next room, Isaac sighed, pushing Mia's cape back towards her. "I'll be okay," he said in response to her worried expression.

She nodded, feeling like she was taking care of another one of her fellow villagers.

_I hope I do get stronger_, she thought, smiling as she put her cape on.

They continued on the ascent through Mercury Lighthouse, with the (ahem) occasional "squabbles" and...fights.


	4. Chapter 4: Ivan's Point of View

**Hey, it's been a long time since my last update, but I kind of had no ideas for the next chapter, but now I do, so here it is! Again, reviews are loved! Yes, this chapter is from Ivan's point of view!  


* * *

**

It had all been going so well, out little trip into this potentially dangerous lighthouse. I don't even know why I'm here following Isaac's lead blindly. I at least know how to think for myself, unlike that idiot Garet. I am also an intelligent individual who just happens to get into the occasional fist fight with the idiots of this world. I want to crush them all with my Psynergy!

Anyway, as I said, everything going well, but then, we got to a dead end. I can't believe Isaac led us to a dead end! We were stuck in a platform surrounded by water without any ledges close by to jump onto!

"Garet! It's all your fault!" I yelled, smacking him upside the head. I knew it wasn't his fault, but I needed to take my anger out on somebody.

"Ah!" Garet almost lost balance, but managed to regain it before he could fall into the icy cold water," Ivan! Why'd you do that? I could've fallen in! You know I can't swim!"

I snickered, grinning evilly," Yes, I know, Garet."

"Your fighting is very essential in getting us out of here," Isaac commented in his usual sarcastic tone. He looked at us with bored eyes as he said this.

I kept quiet. However sarcastic Isaac's words were, they reflected the truth. We were just bickering like little kids.

Isaac nodded, looking at the statue in front of us. It was the statue we had seen in the beginning of this awful lighthouse and had a glowing red jewel carried in its heart.

Mia was leaning forward, staring at it intently, looking as if she was trying to remember something. Everyone was silent for a while, which was really awkward. I was about to say something angrily about us getting nowhere when Mia broke the silence.

"Alex and I...we used to play here," she murmured, still concentrating hard on remembering something.

"Right, and the point is?" I asked grumpily.

"Yeah, it's not like we can learn something from her past ventures into this lighthouse," Isaac added, probably being sarcastic yet again. Seriously, everything he says is sarcastic and has some meaning other than what he's actually saying. Why don't you just say it directly? Talk normally like everyone else, idiot! You don't have to make everything sarcastic!

But since he was our leader, I refrained from voicing these thoughts out loud and instead took them out on Garet.

"Think of something, stupid! Don't just stand there staring at us with your mouth open! For once, be useful for something other than fighting!" I growled, pointing at the red-headed nitwit himself.

"B-but usually Isaac thinks of these things," Garet stammered, looking completely helpless.

"So? Does Isaac think for you?" I demanded, silently laughing.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, he does," Garet murmured, looking down at the watery platform. Mia smiled a little.

"Ah, I remember now," she said, turning back to look at us," When Alex and I used to play here, he taught me a fun game. He did something to the statue and let us both get three rings which hovered over our he-"

"Don't explain it, just do it if you have found a way to get us out of here!" I cried out, gesturing elaborately at the water around us. Explaining the times she and Alex spent together was not helping, in fact it was time-consuming.

"Ivan! Don't be so mean!" Garet wailed, frowning.

"Please continue arguing, we have more than enough time," Isaac offered.

Mia nodded," Uh, I meant, I can just cast my Psynergy on that statue and we'll be able to hop on the water, but only three times."

I sighed in exasperation," You...should've...said that...in the first place." She smiled apologetically at me and turned back to face the statue. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, looking as if she were praying. Suddenly, the fairy we had seen at that old couple's house materialized out of nowhere. It hovered for a second over the statue's glowing red jewel and then, it flew around over it, sprinkling it with something. Then, the fairy disappeared.

"Whoa, that was pure awesome!" Garet mumbled.

I turned to him to tell him to shut up when I noticed something weird about him. There were three golden rings floating just above his red hair. I could only point at them. "You have three halos!" I exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking at me," Whoa, you too!"

"Mia! What did you do to us? Did you just make us die?" I wailed, joking a little.

Isaac seemed unfazed by the appearance of the rings. He glanced around the room, probably looking for a route to go. Good, he'd better be or he would not be a suitable leader. I only follow him because he tends to lead us in the right direction, okay, not because I like him at all. He's too sarcastic all the time.

There was a splash behind me. I spun around to see Garet splashing around in the water.

"Gah! H-help!" he spluttered, flailing around in the water.

"Idiot!" I exclaimed," How in the world did you fall into the water? Stop struggling! You'll drown!"

The idiotic person did not follow my awesome advice. Mia knelt down, holding out a hand to him, stretching out her hand as far as she could.

"Take my hand!" she called. Garet clumsily struggled and finally grabbed her hand. That heavy bastard almost pulled her in with his heaviness. Seriously, he's much larger than the rest of us. Mia grabbed his hand with both hands and pulled him towards the platform. I clutched Garet's hand too and pulled. Isaac also helped and the three of us managed to pull him back on "land".

"Never do that again!" I ordered, smacking the back of his head with some effort.

Garet covered his head, coughing up water," Stop being so mean!" I bared my teeth at him.

"Then YOU stop being such a doofus!" I shot back, glaring at him.

There was a little splash; I turned to see Isaac hopping across the water. He managed to make it to the left of the statue. He turned around and looked at us.

"Yes, just keep staring at me and do nothing. I do not need any of you to follow me," he called over to us. I rolled my eyes, jumping across the water over to him. Everyone else did the same.

And that is my account on how we almost got stuck at that part of the lighthouse and my thoughts, so if any of you got a problem with that, I'll beat you so hard, your brains will be oozing out of your empty eye sockets! What a happy thought, eh? That was a little sarcasm there. See, I can be sarcastic too!

* * *

**Sorry for that last graphic image...or maybe I'm not? (insert evil laugh of evilness!) Finally, the fourth chapter is finished!  
**


	5. Chapter 5 of UTTER EVIL

**Hello, another chapter of this weird weird fanfiction. So yeah, enjoy and reviews are loved! Sorry for not updating so much!  
**

* * *

Mia stared up at the apparition in front of her. She had wide eyes as she looked at him. It was Alex, just like how she had remembered him.

"A-Alex?" she stammered, walking up to him.

He gave her half-smile and raised one eyebrow. "Why are you being so weird Mia?" he asked, laughing and pointing up to the top of the lighthouse," Don't you remember? We're racing to the top of the lighthouse today!" He glanced from the lighthouse to Mia in an expectant way.

Mia stared at him blankly, confused. Was this Alex? Was he back? And why did he want to race her to the top of the lighthouse? Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to process many thoughts.

"Mia, don't just stand there! Do you really want me to get there before you? Catch up to me then!" Alex called, running up to the lighthouse.

Mia stumbled forward and tripped on her dress, falling face forward.

"WHOA!" Mia screamed, sitting up. She stared into the startled face of Garet and remembered where she was.

_A dream?_ Mia tapped the side of her head, wondering what in Weyard was she doing sleeping? She gazed sheepishly at Isaac who was leaning against the wall. Maybe he would know.

"Garet accidentally threw a sleep bomb at you," Isaac stated, as if she had asked. He smiled a little at her, but it wasn't a comforting smile, it was a humorous smile that meant "ha ha, a bomb was thrown at you, loser."

Mia stared at Garet with a worried expression, remembering now. Right before the dream, there had been lots and lots of smoke. She glared at Garet accusingly, not appreciating having a sleep bomb thrown at her obviously.

"It was an accident!" Garet cried out when he saw her outraged expression.

"Even though you missed the monster that was RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU STUPID, DUMB IDIOTIC OAF WHO WOULD PROBABLY BE DEAD IF HE WENT TO TRAVEL BY HIMSELF?" Ivan roared, clenching his hands into fists and his face turning red from yelling," Guh."

Everyone stared at him, but not with the same feelings. Mia was feeling a bit startled. Garet was really scared, but very offended. Isaac looked on with indifference, as if he found everything to be extremely boring, which might've been his real opinion, but who knew?

Ivan was silent for a while, then smacked his head while sighing. "I'm sorry, I kind of lost my temper," he mumbled, looking away from the staring eyes.

"Kind of? You're so mean!" Garet yelled, frowning," You always call me stupid and stuff, I'm not even that stupid, you're just mean!"

"No, you're just missing a brain! I am not mean, I'm just frank!" Ivan argued.

"We have all the time in the world, please continue your intelligent conversation," Isaac interrupted, sitting down and looking up at them while smiling. Ivan glared at him, but Isaac simply smiled at him. Mia raised an eyebrow as she stared at everyone.

_We should really be going now, I want to see Alex already and ask him so many things._ Mia anxiously wrung her hands and turned her gaze down to the ground. Then, she looked around her, it was a small room, with two steeping stones in the middle of some water. The stones were glowing and were much too far from each other, an easy room, eh?

"Fine, fine," Ivan grumbled, shaking his head," Let's just go already."

* * *

After jumping their way to the next room, Garet suddenly said," We four make a good team, don't we, Isaac?"

"No," Isaac replied bluntly," We make a horrible team. I seem to be the only competent person on this so-called team." The words sounded haughty, but his voice made it seem like he was complaining a little with its empty tone.

Ivan glared up at him with teeth clenched," WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Kidding," Isaac grinned reassuringly at Ivan," No need to try to prove your worth by inflicting heavy injuries on your leader."

"Shut up! You're only the leader because I let you be!" Ivan declared.

"And you let me be leader because I do a good job at it," Isaac added almost triumphantly.

"Yeah, whatever, you jerk," Ivan growled, dismissing the banter with his hand. Isaac smirked at the word jerk.

"Isaac," Garet whined,looking back at Isaac," How come you always stop Ivan and me from arguing, but you let him argue with you all he wants! Not fair, Isaac!"

"Because I feel that you're too smart to create proper conversation with Ivan," Isaac answered with a fake happy tone, which meant that he was being sarcastic," However, someone like me is too incorrigible to get offended by any insult of Ivan's."

"HEY!" Garet and Ivan protested simultaneously.

"Joking, duh," Isaac shrugged, looking away from them," I'm sorry that I did not make it so obvious."

"Garet, look where you're walking!" Mia snapped, even though she had been silent the whole time.

"Eh?" Garet asked, looking forward just as he tripped over a pipe," AHHHHHHH!"

Isaac calmly walked over to him and stared down at Garet who seemed perfectly fine and was even waving up at him. He had fallen down on his bottom, but was standing up now, still waving. Isaac groaned a little, smacking his head with his hand.

_How can he be so clumsy_, Mia thought. Her warning had obviously not worked, not that she had expected it to. Garet soon stood next to them, smiling a little helplessly at the seething group.

"That was fun, though it hurt a little!" Garet exclaimed, grinning brightly. Ivan looked sideways at him with a bitter expression.

"In this small group, are we allowed to leave a member in the middle of nowhere to die?" Ivan asked Isaac pleadingly.

"Yes, after all we have enough members to spare and we do not need a Mars adept at all," Isaac answered in a monotone voice," Though Garet is a very intellectual individual."

"What is it, opposite day for you or something? Jeez Isaac, you never say what you actually think!" Ivan yelled, throwing up his arms in frustration.

"Because if I did, the world would be destroyed," Isaac joked, patting Ivan on the head. Ivan flailed his arms, growling almost like a wolf. He did not appreciate being treated like he was a little kid.

"Can we please hurry?" Mia suggested, raising a hand with her index finger lifted," Please?"

Isaac stared at her for a long time with an irritated face. Then he opened his mouth and said," You thief, you stole my darn job. I'm supposed to remind everyone that we're wasting time."

Mia sighed, crossing her arms in an exasperated way. She smiled crookedly though in spite of her anxiety, but would never admit that this wayward group of travelers made her laugh. Maybe after this, she could join them on their adventure, whatever it was. Now that she thought of it, she didn't even know much about them, but was trusting them with so many things.

"Fine, fine, I'll let you off the hook this time," Isaac laughed a little and walked off to the other side of the room. He solved most of the puzzles in the lighthouse, leaving the rest of the group to simply sit, rest a little, or talk amongst themselves. Mia still felt a bit guilty whenever Isaac went off alone.

Of course, it was usually at this time that Ivan and Garet started to resolve most of their fights.

"YOU IDIOT, TRIPPING LIKE A KLUTZ, DON'T YOU EVER WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU DOOF!" Ivan whispered loudly, smacking Garet on the head again.

"Ow, you're always so mean. So annoying," Garet whined, pushing Ivan away.

"NO, YOU'RE ANNOYING!" Ivan pouted, glaring at Garet.

"No, you!"

"NO, YOU!"

"No, you!"

"NO, YOU!"

Suddenly, there was a loud hissing noise and the statue enclosed by pipes was pushed by a jet of water. For a while, Ivan and Garet were silent, then they continued shouting at each other.

Mia looked up at the blue walls of the lighthouse, wondering why the lighthouse had seemed so empty back when she was a kid.

_Ah, what a fun day,_ Mia smiled sarcastically as she watched Ivan punch Garet, _I hope we're almost there._

_My objective has changed, next time I see Alex, I'll ask why he ran away from the village, then proceed to utterly destroy his existence.

* * *

_**Could it be? Mia's being influenced by Ivan?**


	6. Chapter 6: The end?

**Another update! Yeah...so enjoy! Ah, it's going to end soon....oh well, I had fun writing this.  
**

* * *

"Jump in already, Garet!" Ivan growled, clenching his fist.

They were now supposed to jump into the waterfall that was now flowing up. Isaac and Mia had gone up already and now Garet was too scared to try it.

"B-but what if it suddenly goes back to normal and I fall on the ground? And it looks scary, and I don't like water and it's pretty cold and-"

"NO EXCUSES!" Ivan roared, pushing Garet straight into the waterfall.

"Gah!" Garet fell into the waterfall, spluttering as the water went into his mouth. He held his breath and closed his eyes as the waterfall carried him to the top of the lighthouse.

Ivan looked around the room in wonder and hopped in after Garet.

* * *

Isaac opened his eyes blearily and glanced around him. They were really high up, so that looking down below him gave him the feeling of wanting to jump off just to see whether or not he would hit the ground, which he probably would.

His other "buddies" were just scattered around him, unconscious. _Let's draw on their faces just to have a good laugh when they wake up_.

Fortunately, Isaac thought better of it and started shaking them awake. Mia looked at him quizzically when she woke up, as if asking why they were sleeping. Isaac was tempted to tell her that Garet threw another sleep bomb at her, but he simply smiled, patting her head.

"Worry not, my little child," Isaac murmured, shaking Ivan awake.

"Nyahg?" Ivan opened his eyes, stared at Garet who was still unconscious and kicked him," Wake up, you bumbling oaf!" Garet let out an exclamation of pain, standing up with some difficulty.

"You didn't have to kick me!" Garet wailed.

"No, I didn't, but I did anyway, so there," Ivan grinned," So, how about moving o-" Ivan stared at something in the distance with wide eyes.

"What Ivan?" Garet asked, looking in the direction Ivan was facing. There in the middle of the top of Mercury Lighthouse was a huge blue orb, pulsing and its colors constantly swirling.

"Ah, the lighthouse is lit," Isaac said sadly," Oh well, let's go over there and see if those stupid jerks whom I wish to kill very very much are still there."

They hopped over to the center and it was empty, except for them of course.

"Jenna!" Garet exclaimed, pointing and gesturing wildly," Oh my gosh, it's Jenna! And Kraden! JENNA! JENNA!"

"Shut up!" Ivan growled, smacking Garet upside the head," This is not an appropriate situation for happy reunions."

"Or is it?" Isaac murmured, a bit amused at the sight of his old friend and his even older friend," Huh, I expected them to be a bit less compliant to their hostage situation. There's Menardi and Saturos, and that Felix guy. Hm, someone's missing."

"Alex, where's Alex?" Mia asked anxiously.

"Heh, so you followed us this far?" Saturos asked, sneering.

"Oh my, you make it seem as if we're stalking you," Isaac replied blandly," And yes, while we could've stayed in Vale all happy and stuff, we took it upon ourselves to hunt you guys down and make sure you do not destroy the world by lighting the lighthouses."

"Why you little brat!" Saturos growled, brandishing a fist," I oughta-"

"Give back Jenna and Kraden!" Garet whined in a pleading tone," You jerks! Give them back so we can all go home! What is the purpose of all this fighting, why can't we just all agree to be peaceful? Surely, lighting the lighthouses might bring some horrible disaster to this world, can't we just stop this?"

"No," Menardi and Saturos answered simply.

"How cheesy, do you really think a simple speech will resolve all of our problems?" Menardi asked, hopping over to Jenna, Felix and Kraden," Well, Saturos, I leave them to you, I'll be off now."

"Right Menardi. So, shall we decide who is stronger?" Saturos asked, taking a step towards them," You have some new people in your little group. That girl, is she from Imil?" He nodded towards Mia who held his gaze with determined eyes.

"No, she's from Osenia, no duh she's from Imil," Isaac muttered.

"You-you," Saturos stopped for a moment to calm his breathing," I shall let that pass for now. So, who is this kid?" Saturos pointed at Ivan who bared his teeth at him.

"My name's Ivan!" Ivan yelled, pointing to himself with his thumb.

Saturos sneered," Wow, you have yourself some great recruits. A girl from Imil and this little shortie."

Isaac's attention switched quickly to Ivan, studying him carefully for a reaction. Shortie, that word was forbidden, never ever to be uttered near Ivan.

Ivan snapped, glaring at Saturos with his greatest rage ever. "You BASTARD!" Ivan roared, pouncing on Saturos. Mia gasped as Ivan repeatedly hit Saturos with his staff, shouting unintelligible words and occasionally punching him.

Isaac stood with an indifferent face, counting under his breath. When he reached the number twenty, he walked forward, gesturing for everyone to follow him. They all managed somehow to pull the struggling Ivan off of Saturos who lay beaten heavily on the ground.

"Ivan, did you really have to go that far?" Isaac asked, sighing.

"Yes, he called me short! I will not let anyone get away with calling me short, yes even you Garet, soon I will have my vengeance on you too!" Ivan stared at Saturos for a little while, tilting his head," Whoa, who knew that a staff could be so damaging."

"So, we beat him," Mia said incredulously.

"Not necessarily," a voice corrected. Mia looked up and saw Alex, kneeling beside Saturos. She looked at him for a while, wondering what he was going to do.

"You see, since this is the Mercury Lighthouse and Saturos uses Mars Psynergy, he was weakened because of its light. He was not able to fight to his full capabilities," Alex added, looking up at the giant orb.

"But, we still beat him," Isaac pointed out," Or at least Ivan did. See, he lost consciousness and has sustained many heavy injuries, which he might recover safely from in the future, but who knows?"

"True that," Alex smiled, turning to Isaac with a whimsical expression," But as you said, who knows? Come on Saturos, you aren't even injured that badly, get up already, please." He said this with an angelic smile, shaking Saturos a bit too roughly.

"Ow, stop that Alex, it really hurts, jeez. That kid can sure punch hard," Saturos sat up with some difficulty, but collapsed back down," I can't, it hurts too much."

"Oh, come on, you're just pretending!" Alex laughed lightly, sliding a hand under Saturos's back and forcibly making him sit up. Saturos winced and bit back a scream. Alex patted his back quite hard, still smiling.

Even Ivan was feeling sorry for Saturos. This Alex guy seemed like a really scary person, the way he was forcing Saturos to stand seemed really painful.

Mia simply stared in surprise, wondering how Alex had changed so much. She didn't remember Alex like this before.

"Hey!" Isaac yelled, raising his voice for the first time in the adventure," So, what? We're supposed to simply stand here and watch as you help him get away? Wow, that seems like a really good decision on your part."

Alex looked at Isaac with a grin as Saturos stood on his own with some difficulty. "You're right, I'm sorry for ignoring every one of you like that. I should probably do this properly, hm?" Alex sighed, walking over to them," So, please stay still while Saturos gets away?"

"What! You jerk!" Ivan growled, taking a step forward.

Alex smiled and a geyser exploded in front of Ivan. Ivan backed away, falling back.

"Going backwards, good idea. Accidentally getting caught in this will send you flying and at this height, you might not want to do that," Alex nodded, still smiling innocently," Saturos, can you walk properly yet?"

"Maybe," Saturos grunted.

Alex shrugged," Ah, right. I'll give you a bit more time, if you can't walk by then, I'll send you down the quicker way, if you know what I mean."

Garet clenched his hand, wondering if Alex would be able to stop all of them if they rushed out at once. He glanced at Isaac, trying to tell him without saying it out loud.

"Hm?" Alex tilted his head, gazing intently at Garet," So, what plan did you have, trying to get your leader's attention so badly? Every one of you trying to stop me? Why don't you try it? Are you really certain that you'll be able to sacrifice anybody who does get blasted off this lighthouse?"

Garet frowned a little at Alex who simply beamed.

"I'm okay now," Saturos called, though he didn't look okay.

"Great, now take that ledge down to the bottom, I'll be right behind you," Alex said. Saturos grumbled under his breath something about Ivan being a beast and limped off to the ledge which was just coming up. Alex walked after him.

"ALEX!" Mia screamed at the top of her lungs.

Alex turned, looking at her quizzically, " Yes, Mia?"

"What happened to you? You used to be so nice and now you're kind of," Mia bowed her head," Scary."

"What are you talking about, Mia? Don't you remember? I was always this way, wasn't I?" Alex laughed, hopping off on the ledge with Saturos. They faded out of sight below them.

"No-no way," Mia murmured, her hands on the sides of her head.

"What is it, Mia?" Garet asked, hovering over her shoulder.

"H-he's right, he was always this way. I remember now," Mia whispered, looking traumatized, then starting to speak very quickly," Agh! And I remember that when we were small, he used to drag me to this lighthouse and force me to practice my Psynergy on the monsters even though we were only kids! And he even forced me to drag myself to Imil's healer when I got really hurt by the monsters! He was so sadistic!"

"Well, so now you have no reason to chase him, eh? And you don't have to travel with us anymore," Isaac pointed at the orb," You don't need to stop the other lighthouses from being lit, do you?"

Mia stared at Isaac blankly, as if what he was saying was the ultimate knowledge of the world, but she couldn't process any of it.

"I am going to travel with you guys though," Mia answered, her eyebrows furrowing," And besides, my people don't need me anymore. Now that the lighthouse is lit, the people of Imil can use the healing water to cure their sicknesses, though it's not necessarily a good thing."

"Right, so let's keep staying here, chatting even though we have more important things to do," Isaac suggested sarcastically.

"Again with the sarcasm! Jeez, just tell us outright, you idiot!" Ivan sighed, walking forward.

"But if I did, would you even be able to understand or comply?" Isaac questioned.

"Are you calling me stupid?" Ivan growled.

"For once, the position is switched," Garet mumbled.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Ivan shouted.

"Stop yelling, you can just talk normally, can't you?" Garet asked.

Mia laughed, wondering if this would be an example of all of their conversations in the future, no matter how dire the situation is or how disappointing it was.

_It'd be nice if it was_, Mia thought, watching them argue again, like always.

* * *

**Ah, it's done......I feel empty inside. I might make a sequel in some other dungeon. Might. And yeah, it's finally done. Phew.**


End file.
